Primitive Accumulation
Primitive accumulation, coined by Marx, is just a fancy way of saying that Capitalism violently stole or accumulated things in order to give it a chance of establishing itself. It stole human bodies, resources and land. This took place during the 15th-18th centuries of Capitalism’s initial growth, a necessary pre-condition for it to become the dominant political and economic system.
Federici builds on the definition of primitive accumulation as an accumulation of workers and capital, and says it was also an accumulation of divisions and hierarchies along lines of gender, race and age. These were created as a means by which slavery and the possession of women’s bodies could be justified, and therefore a way of justifying the practices of primitive accumulation.
defined by Ben Bradley as part of a theory article
Ben Bradley
London-based Ben graduated from the University of Manchester in Italian and Arabic, and then worked as a primary school teacher. He now works for the civil service in between reading anthropological and feminist theory. His piece on the female body is his first published article.